Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Credits to Harper Teen

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

DNF @ …mystery percentage. For once I didn’t check. XD

Well, hello, there. Welcome to possibly my shortest review yet. I know, I know, I literally always say that and then you’re given paragraph after paragraph of a very non-short review. I’m a mess…well, actually I’m just a talker…or writer? Okay, I’m not sure, but I’m already going off track. Let’s hope I get this right?

Once Upon a Time…

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

Okay, so the truth is, I picked up this book for two reasons and two reasons only: it was cheap on Book Outlet and I saw there was pretty birds on each of the chapter headers. I was still in my SOC bless and I think they’re crows and I was like, YAAAAAS PRETTY BIRD PICTURES…even though I hate birds. I’m had mixed times with Kiersten White, but I read a few pages ahead and this book was so funny and witty that I had to try it.

What I loved was the humor, and it’s almost what kept me going. The first few pages were so funny with Jessamin adding the real issues into the letters she was sending to her mother, and I loved the time period it was about. It had a super interesting premise and the wit was good so far, but there were a few other issues that just made it give up.

There was a diversity aspect with our main character, but I’m not entirely sure how it was handled? As I said, I didn’t get super far.

Snow likes birds…perhaps why I DNF’d her too? D: Poor Snow.

The main issue I had was Finn. So, we meet this glorious golden-haired boy who Jessamin accidentally meets. And I’m like, well, okay, that was fast, but then all of a sudden, after giving her slightly the creeps, she agrees to have lunch with him in a secluded place all by herself. Horrible decision, really, but his hair is just so golden that she has to go. Anyway, they have a nice lunch, and they part ways…only to be brought back together a few pages later when she’s delivering food to his room. Of course, Finn is some super Victorian spy or something and he decides to try and kill her because she’s obviously a super Victorian spy too but then somehow he makes her tell the truth and figures out she was literally trying to just give him some food and then we’re back to dreamy golden-haired Finn. I literally only got three short chapters in and these Finn encounters made up 1/2 of it. I just thought it was dreamboat Finn too much, too fast. And that really wasn’t for me so I had to call it a day.

Look, it’s decently short, right??? Are we at least sort of impressed? No stars and a Snow White rating!

Check it out:

• Goodreads
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

What do you think? What are some of the main reasons why you DNF? Do you totally get drawn into a book for pretty bird drawings too? Let’s discuss in the comments below!